The next day it was back on the propeller plane to fly to Poznan. This time the airline crew was more prepared. While they made the rest of the passengers wait on the icy tarmac, freezing their asses off, Fred and I brought our instruments into the plane and tried to fit them in the area created by the removal of two seats.
[Stewardess 1: “Please place the large case under the seat in front of this new space.”
Musician 1: “Uh, I don’t think that’s going to be possible.”
Stewardess 2: “But it must fit.”
Musician 2: “I really don’t think that there is a way that these cases are going to fit under
the seat. You can hardly fit a small bag under there.”
Outside the crowd grows more and more restless. Fred and the stewardesses discuss various ideas involving problems with the physics of small spaces. I have visions of the rest of the quintet frozen solid outside, looking like the ceramic soldiers discovered in China.
Stewardess 1 and 2: “Here, we try this…”
Again with the seat belt extensions- problem solved (unless the plane hits an air pocket). Fred and I feel the glare of frozen eyeballs as the passengers file in. You didn’t need to know Polish to realize what they are all saying as they walk by. Good to have a book to read.]
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